And the other two albums?

Here's to Taking it Easy by Phosphorescent, more on which to come...

and Infinite Arms by Band of Horses

just as the Black Keys album was, much of the latter of these two was recorded at the legendary Muscle Shoals studio. It's got a mixed reception so far and, to be fair, i thought it sounded a bit bland on first listen, but it's been growing on me steadily. It might not reach the heights of Everything all the Time, but Laredo and Older, in particular, are superb songs.

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It was pay day recently so I took myself down to a record shop a couple of days ago. There were two albums being released that I was after and there was a third that I’d resolved not to buy. The third was Brothers by The Black Keys. I’d decided not to buy it as I thought I had enough Black Keys records in my collection already, and to save some money. While looking for the other two though, I heard, playing very loudly through the shops sounds system, something that sounded very good and very much like The Black Keys (if you’ve not heard them before, they’ve a distinctive sound). I listened to three songs (tracks two to four on the new album it transpired) and knew pretty much instantly that I was, of course, going to buy it after all. To help seal the deal, the cover artwork is about the best I’ve seen in a long time. So what’s my point? Well, what conspired to make me buy the album? Firstly walking to a real shop, secondly that they were playing that very album, loudly and through a good sound system and because they liked it, and thirdly that the physical object itself was cool as hell (honestly, take a look...)



At a time when there’s much talk about the death of the high street and the redundancy of CDs themselves, all of these things made me feel, for a while at least, better about the world.

And the album? It sounds pretty much like all their other records – it’s fantastic.

(Don't) Keep it Hid

i've never quite got into The Black Keys, but you have to check out frontman Dan Auerbach's solo record, a warm mix of blues, folk, soul and Creedence-style rock. I only got it at the w'end - thanks Graeme! - so it didn't make my 10 for 09 list, but it would have. Here's not one but two tracks. Now go buy it.